To feel bad I can't afford to take my kids out during half term?

[OneTiredMam]

My DC are due to start half term today and I'm dreading it.
With all the price increases, I'm struggling to put money on my electric/gas meters and have enough food shopping in let alone take them out for a nice day out to break up half term.
We could afford it before the price increases but it's really beginning to hit and I feel so guilty there going to go back to school to say "we haven't done anything." They don't play out (reasons to outting to post), and we don't have any family near by with kids.

Any ideas how I can make it fun for them but for free? And how not to loose my sanity being stuck in all week please.

OP, don’t feel pressured to do loads of things - especially trips out. It’s a week in Feb and children live doing stuff at home. You’re doing a fab job just by being there, letting them chill out and playing games/thinking up challenges.

Engage them to plan and help make the food for a winter picnic.

Transport according to means (in car, on foot to local park; by bus).

My kids are middle aged. They still talk about a winter barbecue picnic in their childhood in Scotland, that was overtaken by a freak heavy snowstorm. The barbie was well alight so we just carried on and pretended we were in the antarctic.

Rural - nature walks or den building in locL accessible woodland? I imagine there will be plenty of branches brought down in the storms that they could use.

@AnnaMagnani

Worth remembering that any day out in the 70s and 80s involved eating cheese sandwiches in the car, due to a mixture of naice cafes not having been invented and no-one having any money.

I wasn't even an outdoorsy child but we must have had a 'day out' to walk up the local steep hill about 50 billion times.

Walks, walks and more walks. Plus any free event at the local museum/library. Once you have been to one, they tend to tell you about the others and it's often the same kids going to them so you start to make friends.

Not just the 70s. This was also my childhood in the 90s! Days at zoo or theme park etc were more of a once or twice in your childhood thing. Now as an adult I love little free museums and community events. Obviously some of us live in places with more free stuff than others, so I am lucky. But definitely no need to feel guilty about doing free stuff/at home or local area. Expensive stuff isn't actually necessarily more fun, some of it is also quite stressful!!

ODFOx agree with cooking days .My DC loved baking gingerbread men, cookies and they loved a marble cake .Just different food colours creating a marble effect cake . If you live rurally can you take a walk through the surrounding countryside maybe? Have a friend over? trip to the library maybe . Do you have a camera or phone they could use ? Take silly pictures with them . Dont feel bad if they have a couple of duvet days either .DC need time to relax and unwind after school term

You don’t have to spend a fortune to have fun. Check your local community page, there might be some stuff going on in your area or look on the local library/museum/art galleries websites to see if there’s anything going on. Just going for a walk to the park is fine.

I’ve never spent much during school holidays because I have 5 DC so it’s too much of a stretch. Always manage to have fun regardless, they don’t mind the free/inexpensive stuff.

Just Google free family days in your area and there will be loads of stuff, pack a picnic instead of getting food when your there. My local Market hall did a free half term day yesterday we did painting then a kids quiz and then a kids disco and it was amazing and all free. Don't let money get you down op, I've been there you are still an amazing mum cause you care !!

If you live rurally can you go walking or exploring in the woods? We are rural but there are several nature reserves and woodlands within a 5 minute drive, we take cameras and scopes to spot birds, go big hunting or geo catching. Going out doesn’t have to cost money 🙂, we rarely go anywhere that costs to get in and we often take food with us to save money.

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My dd reluctantly went out for walks during lockdown but as soon as we had a dog to walk, she would stay out for ages and not want to come home

@SilenceOfThePrams oh, I really want to do papier mache now! Not for the kids, just for me! I'll let them help. It's years since I did it!

[quote Phormiumjester]@SilenceOfThePrams oh, I really want to do papier mache now! Not for the kids, just for me! I'll let them help. It's years since I did it![/quote]
Go for it!